


The Illogical Conclusion

by rarmaster



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Bodysharing, F/F, Spoilers, the death is a canon death but I figured it was safer to tag than to not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 11:12:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14617208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: The position you are in should make the decision between what youshoulddo and what youwantto do impossible, but unfortunately it makes it very, very easy.It is the wrong decision, objectively.But it is the only one you can make.





	The Illogical Conclusion

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to my friend Ruri for the title, and for them and Aera dragging me into this hell

“Something wrong, Meyneth?”

Your Monado and Zanza’s clash against each other as each of his blows pushes you back, back, through the sky in which you fight.

 “Is this the height of your skill?”

You are no match for Zanza.

By all rights you should be, because you and Zanza have equal strengths. You two are the only gods in this world, because Zanza had wanted to be a god, and so Alvis had made him one, and made you one as well.

“You call yourself a god?!”

You should be a match for Zanza.

But…

To say Fiora is holding you back brings a sense of unease to your heart, because that isn’t _fair_ to her. You try not to think it too loudly, even though it is true. Despite your power—the power of the goddess you are unfortunate enough to be—flowing through her veins, she is still but a Homs in a Machina’s body. Zanza, meanwhile, is flaunting every inch of his godhood, which means the two of you are not equal.

Zanza knows this.

You know this.

But you cannot leave Fiora behind.

To leave her would be to kill her, and you can’t do that. You could never do that. Her life is far more precious than yours.

Zanza throws you against the side of the Mechonis. The impact sends an unbearably sharp jolt through yours and Fiora’s shared spine once, then twice as Zanza rushes you and pins you there. He is glowing and terrible. His Monado drills against your defenses. There is no way you can keep this up.

‘ _It’s alright_ ,’ Fiora whispers to you, from the back of your shared mindspace. You are swept with the uncomfortable feeling that she knows, too, how futile this fight is at your current strength. ‘ _If it stops him… It’s fine. Really. I’d do anything to stop him, even if that means—”_

 _No,_ you think back, resolute.

You could never.

Fiora is far too important to you. Even if it is the logical thing to do, to forfeit her life and stop Zanza; even if she’s okay with that, because it means the safety of everyone else, _you aren’t._

“Oh?” Zanza’s eyebrows raise knowingly, and he turns his attention below. “So that’s why,” he muses.

You let your eyes dart down there to see what he is looking at, and immediately Fiora’s attention fixes on Shulk. You swallow thickly. Pull your shared gaze back to Zanza with some effort.

“You have _feelings_ for the dead boy,” Zanza accuses, smiling sharply.

You want to laugh, but for a moment you just feel sick. Yes, Shulk is a wonderful, amazing boy, and Fiora’s love for him echoes so strongly through your own heart that you cannot help but love him as well.

But it is not him you have feelings for.

It is the girl whose body you inhabit.

It is _Fiora_ who you love, her warmth and kindness, her desperation and desire to fight against this fate. She is a bright, burning star, and you adore everything about her. You are ever grateful, ever joyful, that the two of you got to meet.

The position you are in should make the decision between what you _should_ do and what you _want_ to do impossible, but unfortunately it makes it very, _very_ easy.

You would not forfeit Fiora’s life for anything.

It is the wrong decision, objectively.

But it is the only one you can make.

‘ _Meyneth please,’_ Fiora begs. ‘ _Please we aren’t enough to stop him like this_.’

 _I know,_ you say. You should feel guilt, but you cannot. _I’m sorry,_ you tell her anyway.

‘ _No you aren’t_.’

You think she would have argued more, had Zanza not sent a blast of energy down at Shulk in that moment. Fiora’s attention snapped away from you, and she moved your shared body, slipping away from Zanza and racing the blast to Shulk. The two of you get there first. Fiora uses her body to shield Shulk. You use your magic to shield her.

 _Fiora!_ Your mental voice is sharp. You want to scold her for being reckless, even though that’s ridiculous. The energy that cut through your shield bounces around on her skin, though, and the tingling pain makes it hard for you to think clearly. What if _she_ had died? What if—

‘ _Meyneth,’_ Fiora pleads. Her voice is trembling, and her heart afraid. ‘ _Meyneth we can’t take much more of this. We can’t_ …’

 _I’m sorry,_ you say again. Maybe you mean it this time. _But I can’t…_

Zanza robs any right you had to a choice from your hands.

“Face me as a god,” he calls down from above. A terrifying energy glows around him. His Monado shines high in the sky. “Or watch your putrid friends die!”

He swings his Monado down in an arc. Light in the shape of an X speeds down towards your position. The energy you feel from it is so frighteningly strong it makes your heart stop. You won’t survive it. Fiora won’t survive it. Her friends won’t survive it.

You stand there for a horrifying few moments, paralyzed by indecision. You have no other choice, though, and you hate it. You hate it.

You pull yourself away from Fiora, calculating quickly how much of you needs to take the blow and how much of you you can leave behind. You err on the side of caution, and leave less with Fiora than you would like. Leaving energy behind to sustain her would mean nothing if you did not block the blow in the first place.

Ripping out of her body is like agony, links of ether and something else snapping as you yank yourself away from the girl you love. Fiora cries out, too. The sorrow and desperation in her voice makes you selfishly warm. At least she hates to part from you as well.

Zanza’s attack is stopped by your body— _your_ body, not Fiora’s—and though it burns through your entire being, the pain is… distant. It hardly registers to your brain at all.

“ _Meyneth!!!_ ” Fiora cries, behind you, separate from you. The sound breaks your heart.

“Fiora, I’m sorry,” you tell her. You want to turn and offer her a smile, but you don’t think you can wipe the sorrow of your face long enough to manage that. “This world would have been better off… without gods.”

“No, _Meyneth!_ ” Fiora screams.

Her voice is the last thing you hear.


End file.
